later-gen Tesla Model S reliability/ownership?
Discussion
Started seriously looking at these with the way fuel prices are and as a relatively nice daily to waft around in... The Model 3 does nothing for me and looks like a squashed wart in comparison. I think these represent insanely good value-for-money right now, unless I’m missing something… my budget is £25k-30k
I was gutted when I read recently they’ve stopped making the Model S – I think the styling/design has really come-of-age the last few years and they look fantastic; a real elegant executive 5-series rival look with the performance to more than match. Hopefully Tesla find a way to make a Model S replacement in the near future, although apparently it was their least profitable car by quite a margin and their lowest selling(?)
Model S experts: How reliable are these? And do they follow the usual thing with cars where the latest facelift models are the best to go for? And what’s the interior materials like and cabin materials quality? Do they "feel" nice? I have a 2015 M6 coupe that I will plan to keep as a second car.
I would be looking at buying a last-gen 2020-2025 Model S Performance with less than 50k miles, which I think is 603bhp and 0-60mph in 2.6sec? I understand the last-gen from 2020 onwards only came in three trim levels – Standard Range, Long Range and Performance only.. replacing the previous 85D, 90D, P90D, 100D & P100D etc
I was gutted when I read recently they’ve stopped making the Model S – I think the styling/design has really come-of-age the last few years and they look fantastic; a real elegant executive 5-series rival look with the performance to more than match. Hopefully Tesla find a way to make a Model S replacement in the near future, although apparently it was their least profitable car by quite a margin and their lowest selling(?)
Model S experts: How reliable are these? And do they follow the usual thing with cars where the latest facelift models are the best to go for? And what’s the interior materials like and cabin materials quality? Do they "feel" nice? I have a 2015 M6 coupe that I will plan to keep as a second car.
I would be looking at buying a last-gen 2020-2025 Model S Performance with less than 50k miles, which I think is 603bhp and 0-60mph in 2.6sec? I understand the last-gen from 2020 onwards only came in three trim levels – Standard Range, Long Range and Performance only.. replacing the previous 85D, 90D, P90D, 100D & P100D etc
Your info is a bit off. 2020 was the last year of production before a significant update. The update is the plaid not performance, 1000bhp, 3 motors, and left hand drive only. If your in the uk, you ll find very few around.
2020 and earlier are now all getting close to dropping out of all warranty, if they ve not already done so, and the maintenance is quite specialist. There are seals on the battery on that generation of cars that need checking, I think there s a rear motor mod that needs doing too. They don t charge very quickly by today s standards.
The design dates back 14 years and whilst they updated a lot as they went along, that underpinning design is still there, including motors and battery tech that has been tweaked but still shows. It s why even after a significant update over 2020 they just didn t sell.
I think its fair to say those who have one, love them, but it s the EV equivalent of owning an Alfa Romeo or Maserati.. pretty niche, interesting car, has personality, but also has compromises.
2020 and earlier are now all getting close to dropping out of all warranty, if they ve not already done so, and the maintenance is quite specialist. There are seals on the battery on that generation of cars that need checking, I think there s a rear motor mod that needs doing too. They don t charge very quickly by today s standards.
The design dates back 14 years and whilst they updated a lot as they went along, that underpinning design is still there, including motors and battery tech that has been tweaked but still shows. It s why even after a significant update over 2020 they just didn t sell.
I think its fair to say those who have one, love them, but it s the EV equivalent of owning an Alfa Romeo or Maserati.. pretty niche, interesting car, has personality, but also has compromises.
Edited by Gone fishing on Friday 16th October 07:33
Gone fishing said:
Your info is a bit off. 2020 was the last year of production before a significant update. The update is the plaid not performance, 1000bhp, 3 motors, and left hand drive only. If your in the uk, you ll find very few around.
2020 and earlier are now all getting close to dropping out of all warranty, if they ve not already done so, and the maintenance is quite specialist. There are seals on the battery on that generation of cars that need checking, I think there s a rear motor mod that needs doing too. They don t charge very quickly by today s standards.
The design dates back 14 years and whilst they updated a lot as they went along, that underpinning design is still there, including motors and battery tech that has been tweaked but still shows. It s why even after a significant update over 2020 they just didn t sell.
I think its fair to say those who have one, love them, but it s the EV equivalent of owning an Alfa Romeo or Maserati.. pretty niche, interesting car, has personality, but also has compromises.
2020-2021 they did make a Model S Performance in right-hand-drive before the Plaid launched and continued to make the Performance alongside the Plaid(?)2020 and earlier are now all getting close to dropping out of all warranty, if they ve not already done so, and the maintenance is quite specialist. There are seals on the battery on that generation of cars that need checking, I think there s a rear motor mod that needs doing too. They don t charge very quickly by today s standards.
The design dates back 14 years and whilst they updated a lot as they went along, that underpinning design is still there, including motors and battery tech that has been tweaked but still shows. It s why even after a significant update over 2020 they just didn t sell.
I think its fair to say those who have one, love them, but it s the EV equivalent of owning an Alfa Romeo or Maserati.. pretty niche, interesting car, has personality, but also has compromises.
Edited by Gone fishing on Friday 16th October 07:33
The rhd Model S Performance would be the one I'd want
A44RON said:
2020-2021 they did make a Model S Performance in right-hand-drive before the Plaid launched and continued to make the Performance alongside the Plaid(?)
The rhd Model S Performance would be the one I'd want
You said a last gen 2020-2025, not last of the previous gen from 2020. Production stopped in Dec 2020, although some will have been first registered later.The rhd Model S Performance would be the one I'd want
My comments still hold true, a 2020 car is fundamentally a 14 year old design and the first volume car as a c9mpany they designed. The rear motor was derived from a train and requires specialist maintenance, the battery pack has a panel which can leak over time and needs work. The suspension has been heavily revised over the years which is to its credit. You need to find a specialist to look after it and reduce your chances it will become an expensive paperweight. Rapid charging is via adopters and not particularly quick by modern standards, and ignore the peak charge rate claims, it falls off quickly. From memory they will only have FSD AI3 hardware so if you wanted to go that route it will always be compromised. The main screen or MCU will also be pre Ryzen. I guess my point is you need to have your eyes open to what you’re buying and to understand the tech is over 6 year old, albeit leading edge in its day, but in a market where it’s been evolving quickly. If you’re happy with all that then go ahead, I had 2 model S in my time, including a performance, and they’re rapid albeit not a car to throw round corners, but the 4 EVs I’ve had since, 3 of them Tesla, have all felt a lot better sorted.
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